Nadya Suleman and her eight two-year-olds were on a flight from NY to LA. When the kids wouldn't quiet down, actress Kristen Johnston told NS that she needed to do something to quiet the kids. When NS asked her how she was supposed to do that, KJ said "Get more help!" to which NS replied "Grow a baby and get a life!"

Octomom was definitely the rude one. It's not like she suddenly found herself on a plane with no warning. She *knew* she would be on a plane with all those kids. She should have *known* she would need lots of help. I would say 1 adult per two kids!

Nadya Suleman and her eight two-year-olds were on a flight from NY to LA. When the kids wouldn't quiet down, actress Kristen Johnston told NS that she needed to do something to quiet the kids. When NS asked her how she was supposed to do that, KJ said "Get more help!" to which NS replied "Grow a baby and get a life!"

I think both were rude, but who was ruder?

From the story, I think Kristen was ruder, but really without knowing exactly what she actually said and what Nadya was trying to do to keep the kids reasonably quiet I think it's impossible to really say.

There's a HUGE difference between "Can't you shut those kids up?" and "Do you think you could try giving them some books or something? They're really loud and I'm getting a headache."

There's a HUGE difference between ignoring fussing children because you've given up trying to control them and actually attempting to distract them, talk to them, and engage them.

Even an adult with strong parenting skills and a mellow baby can end up on some form of public transportation with a kid who is just melting down. If I were on a flight or a bus with a mother who had several children and no other adult to help her, and the kids were loud or miserable, I would see what I could do to help. To be fair, I like kids, and I wouldn't expect someone who disliked kids to volunteer to help, but I definitely have sympathy for parents in that position and wouldn't anticipate anything good to come of chastising one under those circumstances. I don't think it would improve the situation in any way.

It's not like she was getting on a plane, turned around, and oh my goodness, there are suddenly 8 toddlers following her! This is a known situation that she should've planned for in advance. They're her kids, it was her responsibility to either come up with a plan that would let her manage on her own or arrange for some help. She decided to inflict her problem on all the innocent people around her. That's rude.

Kristen Johnson probably could've come up with a better way of saying it, but it wasn't rude in concept.

Eight 2 year olds on a flight from New York to LA? That's someone's version of hell, right there...

AMEN! I wonder at times how she gets them all from one place to another, vehicle wise. I mean, did she have to get a small bus to transfer them all from point A to point B? Just something I wonder about!

We know a family that used to be our next door neighbors. They now have 8 kids, I believe, and had to get a small bus to seat the family of 10.

Logged

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars. You have a right to be here. Be cheerful, strive to be happy. -Desiderata

Ok, but they're two. It's not exactly a controllable age- cand you generally instill good behavior? yes. But sometimes young kids just get fussy. And with eight of them? It'd be like dominoes.

But I do agree, she needs some helpers in certain situations, rather than relying on the kindness of strangers.

Then she should have had help on the plane by having chaperones accompany her. Where were all these kids sitting? Not all of them were able to sit with her. Who was supervising them in the other seats?

Their behaviour is not their fault, but it is her fault for not having enough people with her to ensure they are not disruptive to the other passengers. I'm sure that was a jolly good flight for the rest of the passengers.

Ok, but they're two. It's not exactly a controllable age- cand you generally instill good behavior? yes. But sometimes young kids just get fussy. And with eight of them? It'd be like dominoes.

But from what I've seen, she doesn't exactly have a handle on those kids or their behavior. They seem rather out of control and her statements indicate as much.

This is a case of Made. Bed. Lie.

Seem rather out of control?? LOL Did you see the Today Show yesterday? CRUD MONKEYS!! I felt so sorry for Ann Curry. She remained incredibly calm as she's running behind the scenes chasing them, still asking the questions while Octomom and the older kid just sat there.

Nadya Suleman and her eight two-year-olds were on a flight from NY to LA. When the kids wouldn't quiet down, actress Kristen Johnston told NS that she needed to do something to quiet the kids. When NS asked her how she was supposed to do that, KJ said "Get more help!" to which NS replied "Grow a baby and get a life!"

I think both were rude, but who was ruder?

From the story, I think Kristen was ruder, but really without knowing exactly what she actually said and what Nadya was trying to do to keep the kids reasonably quiet I think it's impossible to really say.

There's a HUGE difference between "Can't you shut those kids up?" and "Do you think you could try giving them some books or something? They're really loud and I'm getting a headache."

There's a HUGE difference between ignoring fussing children because you've given up trying to control them and actually attempting to distract them, talk to them, and engage them.

Even an adult with strong parenting skills and a mellow baby can end up on some form of public transportation with a kid who is just melting down. If I were on a flight or a bus with a mother who had several children and no other adult to help her, and the kids were loud or miserable, I would see what I could do to help. To be fair, I like kids, and I wouldn't expect someone who disliked kids to volunteer to help, but I definitely have sympathy for parents in that position and wouldn't anticipate anything good to come of chastising one under those circumstances. I don't think it would improve the situation in any way.

I don't see how she was able to control all of them when it was only her and her 10 YO DD on the flight. There had to be 4 or 5 of them sitting with other people. How can they be watched by her then? Take a look at video from The Today Show yesterday. I can bet it was a three ring circus on that flight.

While I do think that parents should be given some leeway on a flight for fussy children, if they are trying to manage them, and I understand that circumstances may require a parent to travel by themselves with several children... in normal circumstances, at least some of the children would be old enough to manage their behavior, such that the parent could sit next to the youngest couple and have the older ones across the aisle from her (but still in the same row so that she can keep an eye on them).

However, Suleman is in the unusual circumstance of having eight children (well, fourteen, but let's speak of the eight toddlers) who are all toddlers at the same time. Usually somebody with eight children would have only a few who were preschool and under and enough older ones to help. In her case, she has to know that she's in an exceptional situation, and she needs to be prepared for it. She needs to hire somebody to help her on the flight, probably several someones, or she needs to make special arrangements with the airline if possible, or she needs to ask the studio to interview her in her home, or she needs to stop going on interviews that require a plane ride... she has many options, and taking eight toddlers on a plane with one 10-year-old daughter is not a good one. As somebody pointed out, airlines don't generally have eight seats together, not even in a single aisle. So, what, does she have two of them next to her, two across the aisle, and then the other four similarly with their 10-year-old sister? That's asking for trouble, and I think that another passenger is completely justified in asking her politely if she can quiet them, or asking a flight attendant to step in. For safety reasons along with desering a comfortable environment.